SFL (NYSE:SFL) Reaches New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

SFL Corporation Ltd. (NYSE:SFL) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.52 and last traded at $10.3650, with a volume of 1545291 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.40.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SFL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of SFL from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 14th. BTIG Research lifted their price objective on SFL from $11.00 to $12.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded SFL from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, SFL currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $12.00.

SFL Trading Up 2.4%

The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a PE ratio of -53.68 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $8.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $8.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

SFL (NYSE:SFL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The shipping company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter. SFL had a negative net margin of 3.61% and a negative return on equity of 0.30%. The firm had revenue of $175.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $168.36 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 23.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

SFL Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 12th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 12th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.5%. SFL’s dividend payout ratio is -400.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in SFL by 27.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,297,605 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 704,710 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in SFL in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,280,000. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in SFL in the third quarter valued at about $2,064,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in SFL by 7.2% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 2,806,744 shares of the shipping company’s stock valued at $23,380,000 after buying an additional 188,441 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in SFL by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,259,801 shares of the shipping company’s stock worth $9,839,000 after buying an additional 174,072 shares during the period. 28.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

SFL Company Profile

Ship Finance International Limited (NYSE: SFL) is an independent owner of modern, large-size ocean-going vessels that provides finance and leasing services to the global shipping industry. The company’s fleet encompasses a diversified mix of crude oil tankers, product and chemical tankers, liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers, dry bulk carriers, container vessels and floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) units. By structuring long-term charter agreements and bareboat leases with major oil companies, commodity traders and offshore operators, Ship Finance International seeks to deliver stable cash flows and risk-adjusted returns for its shareholders.

In its core business, Ship Finance International acquires or finances vessels through forward sales agreements and then charters them out under fixed-rate contracts, typically ranging from five to 20 years in duration.